Parents, students upset over leadership change in Bedford County Public Schools

Dr. Cherie Whitehurst released a statement to 10 News

BEDFORD, Va. – On Wednesday morning, the Bedford County Public School's spokesperson released a statement saying the district has received a number of questions regarding the status of various people employed by BCPS.

Though they cannot comment on specific personnel actions, they say, "We have no changes planned for the leadership of Liberty High School, other than hiring an assistant principal to replace Mr. Brian Wilson, who will be serving as principal of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School."

"We have found out that oftentimes we can't take the statements of the Bedford County Public Schools at face value. I'm very optimistic, still cautiously optimistic," said Thomas Messier, a senior at Liberty High School.

The announcement comes after parents and Liberty High Students heard last week that their principal, Dr. Kathy Dills, would be reassigned and replaced by Deputy Superintendent Dr. Cherie Whitehurst.

Since then, students have formed a group pushing to have both women retained in their current positions.

"I think this shows how the group has been advocating for Dr. Dills and Dr. Whitehurst. I'll take it as a victory for Dr. Dills, but there's still quite a lot of work to be done. We haven't received confirmation on the status of Dr. Whitehurst," Messier said.

10 News asked about, Whitehurst's current status with the school division and we were told, "We are unable to comment on any and all matters of personnel."

"We're here to rally. We're here to show the school board and the superintendent that Dr. Dills and Dr. Whitehurst are both valuable assets to our community and we won't stop until both of them have job security," Messier said.

Whitehurst released a statement to 10 News saying,  "I am humbled by the outpouring of support in recent days by members of our community.  On the advice of my attorneys, I will not be making any further comment at this time."
Â